People v. Swartzentruber

Defendants appeal an opinion and order of the Gladwin Circuit Court enforcing traffic violation tickets issued to defendants for failure to display the slow-moving vehicle (smv) emblem on their horse-drawn vehicles pursuant to statute. MCL 257.688; MSA 9.2388. We reverse.

Defendants are all members of the Old Order Amish religion. Defendants were ticketed in October, 1980, for failure to display a smv emblem. The statute requires that all vehicles with a maximum potential speed of twenty-five miles per hour display a "reflective device” which is an equilateral triangle in shape, at least…